Classical language

Geography glossary

Topic: Population of India: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

A classical language is a status that the Union government gives to an Indian language that has very old, original literature of great value. The status brings money for research, scholarships and the care of old texts. It also shows that India's literary heritage comes from many language families and regions, not from one.

Explanation

Criteria: what a language must have

  • Very old roots: it must have early texts or written history that is over a thousand years old [1].
  • Valued heritage: it must have a body of old literature that many generations of speakers treat as their own heritage [1].
  • Original tradition: its literary tradition must be its own. It must not be borrowed from another speech community (another group of people with their own language) [1].
  • Classical status depends on age and originality. It does not depend on how many people speak the language today.

How the status works

  • The Union government decides. The Union Cabinet approves a language, as it did on 3 October 2024 [1].
  • What the language gets:
  • money for research on the language;
  • scholarships for students and scholars;

  • help to protect and preserve old texts.

  • What it does not do: it does not add the language to the Constitution. That is a separate list, the Eighth Schedule, which has 22 languages.

How the list grew to 11

Year Classical language Language family
2004 Tamil (the first) Dravidian
2005 Sanskrit Indo-European
2008 Telugu, Kannada Dravidian
2013 Malayalam Dravidian
2014 Odia Indo-European
2024 Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese, Bengali [1] Indo-European
  • Before 2024: six languages. Four were Dravidian (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam) and two were Indo-European (Sanskrit, Odia).
  • After 2024: five Indo-European languages were added, which took the total to 11 [1]. Now 7 of the 11 are Indo-European and 4 are Dravidian.
  • No Austric or Sino-Tibetan language is classical. These are mostly tribal languages that were passed down by speech, so they have fewer old written texts.

Classical vs scheduled: the overlap

  • Pali and Prakrit are classical but are not among the 22 scheduled languages.
  • Sanskrit is both classical and scheduled.
  • The other eight (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Marathi, Assamese, Bengali) are also both classical and scheduled.

Where it occurs

  • Southern Peninsula (Dravidian belt):
  • Tamil: Tamil Nadu
  • Kannada: Karnataka
  • Malayalam: Kerala

  • Telugu: Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu is a Central Dravidian language. The other three are South Dravidian.

  • Eastern India (Indo-Aryan belt):

  • Odia: Odisha
  • Bengali: West Bengal

  • Assamese: Assam, in the Brahmaputra valley of the North-East

  • Western India: Marathi is spoken in Maharashtra, close to the rough northern edge of the Dravidian south.

  • Languages with no home state today: Sanskrit, Pali (the language of early Buddhist texts) and Prakrit (a group of old spoken Indo-Aryan languages, used in early Jain texts). Their classical status comes from their old texts, not from a present-day speech region.
  • Who runs it: the Union government. Status is given by a decision of the Union Cabinet. The first award was to Tamil in 2004 and the latest round was on 3 October 2024 [1].

Don't confuse with

  • Scheduled language: a language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. There are 22, and the Constitution itself lists them. A classical language is chosen by the Union government for its old literature. So Pali and Prakrit are classical but not scheduled.
  • Most-spoken language: Hindi has the most speakers (43.6% of people by mother tongue, Census 2011), but it is not a classical language. Classical status measures how old and original a language's literature is, not how many people speak it.
  • Language family: a group of languages that grew from one common ancestor, such as Dravidian or Indo-European. Classical status is given to single languages, not to whole families.
  • Endangered language: a language with few speakers that may die out, as many tribal languages may (UNESCO). A classical language is protected because of its old literature. An endangered language needs protection because its speakers are disappearing.

Prelims Hooks

  • Tamil (2004) was the first classical language.
  • On 3 October 2024, Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali got classical status, which made a total of 11 [1].
  • Trap: Pali and Prakrit are classical but not in the Eighth Schedule. Sanskrit is both classical and scheduled.
  • Order of recognition: Tamil (2004) → Sanskrit (2005) → Telugu and Kannada (2008) → Malayalam (2013) → Odia (2014) → five languages (2024).
  • Family match: all four major Dravidian languages (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam) are classical. All 2024 additions are Indo-European. No Austric or Sino-Tibetan language is classical.
  • Criteria [1]: early texts over 1,000 years old, a valued body of old literature, and an original tradition not borrowed from another speech community.

Mains Points

  • Heritage and identity (GS-I):
  • Classical status protects old literary traditions through research funding, scholarships and preservation of texts.

  • The 11 languages [1] cover the Dravidian south, the Indo-Aryan east and west, and the old Buddhist and Jain literary languages (Pali and Prakrit). This shows that India's heritage has many centres, which is a form of unity in diversity.

  • Regional pattern and the gap it leaves:

  • All classical languages come from the Indo-European and Dravidian families. These are the languages of the plains and the Peninsula, where long written traditions grew.
  • Tribal languages of the Austric and Sino-Tibetan families survive in isolated hills, plateaus and forests (Chota Nagpur, Meghalaya, the Himalaya, the North-East). They have mostly oral traditions (passed down by speech, not writing), so they cannot meet the old-text criteria.

  • These languages need other kinds of support: mother-tongue schooling, documentation and protection from becoming endangered.

  • Recognition as a political issue:

  • Classical status, like inclusion in the Eighth Schedule, is tied to a group's pride and political voice. Requests to add 38 languages to the Eighth Schedule are still pending [2].
  • The Sitakant Mohapatra committee reported in 2004, but no fixed criteria for the Eighth Schedule have been adopted [2]. So decisions on recognising languages remain contested.

Related concepts

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Sources

  1. 1PIB, Cabinet approves Classical Language status to Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali (October 2024)static.pib.gov.in · tier 1
  2. 2Lok Sabha, Parliamentary Q&A on inclusion of languages in the Eighth Scheduleeparlib.sansad.in · tier 1